Each edition grades its towns against each other only.
This town of 1,415 people was settled in 1874.
Garberville’s best subject grade is an A− for walkability; its weakest is a D− for incomes. 43% of residents live below the poverty line in Garberville, above both the California town median (10%) and the median of U.S. towns (9.6%). Only 7 of California’s 1,056 towns score lower on incomes. FEMA rates its natural-hazard risk higher than 98% of U.S. communities, with inland flooding at the top. Only 101 of California’s 1,064 towns score lower on the outdoors. Garberville has fewer than 2,500 residents, so it gets subject grades but no overall grade.
Where Garberville beats most towns, and one thing worth knowing.
In a town this size, neighbors are the best guide. Ask them anything.
Each subject compared with towns across the country (schools within California), ordered by how far Garberville is from typical.
How TownRatings grades towns →
Census counts: 48 in 1880, 818 in 2020. The archive holds 6 old photos and papers going back to 1920 and 4 maps from 1921 on.
Garberville is unincorporated, so Humboldt County and regional agencies provide most services.
EPA SDWIS (Oct 9, 2026) · HIFLD + EIA-861 2025 · Census 2020 ZCTAs · NCES 2024–25 · registration: vote.gov, updated Nov 18, 2024.
Ordered by what stands out in Garberville.
In the year to September 2026, typical home values slipped 9.2%. Garberville: 54% of households live in a home they own. Its rent at the middle of the market is $1,293 a month.
| Garberville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Households that own their home | 54% | 64% | 73% |
| Median rent | $1,293 a month | $1,896 a month | $1,185 a month |
Census ACS, 2020–24 · Zillow Home Value Index · Redfin Data Center
The median commute is under 13 miles. Employers in Garberville shed 111 jobs between 2013 and 2023, to 429. The town’s average trip to work is 16 minutes. One in 5 of the town’s working residents works locally.
| Garberville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Average trip to work | 16 minutes | 28 minutes | 25 minutes |
| Median household income | $40,000 | $95,000 | $80,000 |
| Working residents who work in town | 22% | 6.6% | 8% |
Census LEHD 2023 · ACS
FEMA puts 60% of Garberville’s expected hazard losses down to inland flooding, and 22% to earthquakes.
FEMA National Risk Index · OpenFEMA
In Garberville, 14% of adults have diabetes. Among 848 California towns, just 7 have a higher share of adults who have been diagnosed with depression than Garberville.
| Garberville | California towns | U.S. towns | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Frequent mental distress (CDC PLACES) | 22% | 17% | 17% |
| Smoke cigarettes (CDC PLACES) | 20% | 11% | 14% |
| Frequent physical distress (CDC PLACES) | 18% | 14% | 14% |
| Depression (CDC PLACES) | 28% | 22% | 23% |
| What stands out | Garberville | CA |
|---|---|---|
| More adults with COPD | 10.7% | 5.1% |
| More older adults who have lost all their teeth | 21.7% | 10.6% |
| More smokers | 19.9% | 10.9% |
CDC PLACES 2025 · modeled estimates for adults · CMS · HRSA
In Garberville, the typical July afternoon high is 81°F.
NOAA U.S. Climate Normals, 1991–2020
Walkers can cover 0.1 miles of trail in 1 park or preserve. Garberville has one park or preserve, 11 acres in all.
| Biggest places to walk | Trails | Acres |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Tooby Memorial Park | — | 11 |
Trails & parks © OpenStreetMap contributors · Conserved land: USGS PAD-US
None within 15 miles of Garberville; the nearest are
About 4 of every 100 Garberville residents are enrolled in college, against 8 across California.
Where Garberville’s working residents go each day. Line width shows the share.
Census LEHD 2023
Census-designated place in California, United States
Garberville is a census-designated place in Humboldt County, California, United States. It is located on the South Fork of the Eel River 52 miles (84 km) south-southeast of Eureka, at an elevation of 535 feet (163 m). The population was 818 at the 2020 United States census. It is approximately 200 miles (320 km) north of San Francisco, California, and within a fifteen-minute drive to Humboldt Redwoods State Park and a sixty-minute drive to Eureka, the county seat. Garberville is the primary town in the area known as the Mateel Region, consisting of parts of the Mattole and Eel River watersheds in southern Humboldt and northern Mendocino counties.
From Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0 · facts via Wikidata (CC0)
Short answers, built from the data on this page.
Yes. That is 4.9 years of the area's median household income ($61,160 across the Eureka-Arcata, CA area). Cost of living, which also weighs rents, property taxes and how many households pay 30% or more of their income for housing, grades D.